5 Reasons for Chicago Cubs Fans to be Pumped Heading into 2014 MLB Season

Getty Images

One of the best memories of many MLB fans is the sound of Harry Caray’s legendary voice being so excited when the Chicago Cubs made it over the .500 winning percentage mark for the season. There are more things than that of course, not the least of which is the basic reaction every time they won a game. Carey is long gone now but his legacy remains and you have to believe that he would be excited going into the 2014 season. Many Cubs fans should be excited actually.

Right out of the gate we all can assume that the Cubs are not going to come close to the National League Central division crown. That is just about a guarantee but at the same time they could compete on a higher level this season than in 2013 or years before. The team that has been heading in the right direction slowly might have taken the next big step towards winning seasons during this offseason.

There are more than five reasons but we are going to look at five specific reasons that Cubs fans should be pumped about this season. They should be more pumped than most actually. Again, they are not going to win anything substantial other than baseball games. Really when a team is trying to climb from the bottom of the division into steady annual contention, wins themselves are awesome.

You can probably figure that the franchise as a whole is going to focus on winning more games this season than last season. Then they will try to win more next season than this season and so on. I think this 2014 regular season will be the stepping off place. Take a look at these five reasons to be excited about this year.

5 – Justin Ruggiano

Getty Images

Ruggiano has been around the majors a little bit but his potential still has a chance to be seen. Look for his best spring training season ever to give way to a very productive season for the Cubbies. He should be a very good addition to this team on both offense and defense.

4 – Starting Rotation

Getty Images

Okay, so the Cubs are not going to have the best staff ERA in baseball. That does not mean they are bad though. Actually with Travis Wood, Edwin Jackson and Jeff Samardzija they have real potential to have a dominant top three if they can all achieve what they are capable of on a regular basis. Add to that a back end that will probably include Jason Hammel and Jake Arrieta when they are both healthy and you have a very decent starting rotation that could improve on the staff ERA and ranking from last season.

3 – Starlin Castro

Getty Images

Castro is one of the most exciting players in the majors still and he should be spurred on to have his best season yet by the looming arrival of top prospect Javier Baez. Everyone knows the young shortstop Baez is on his way including Castro. However they work the arrangement when Baez does arrive will have to include Castro somewhere because of the season he is bound to put up this year.

2 – Javier Baez

Getty Images

This young man is coming to the majors and it is not going to be something the Cubs fans have to wait for 2015 to see. All he needs to do is put up some dominant numbers in Triple-A which should be easy enough and the first time it seems right you will see him in MLB. It will be a very exciting time when it happens.

1 – Rick Renteria

Getty Images

Nothing against former managers but it just seems like Renteria is the right man for this job of taking the Cubs to the next level. Major credit goes to the front office for nabbing this guy because they were definitely not the only team interested in his managerial services. He will put an exciting team on the field.

Curt Schilling and the New York Yankees took action against two terrible online commenters responding to tweets directed at Schilling's daughter, and their proactive response was commendable. Read More

Everyone knows players like Jon Lester, Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro will have a great impact on the 2015 Cubs season. However, some may not be aware of these fiv players who could make an impact. Read More

The Pittsburgh Pirates already have two extremely talented outfielders in Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen. See why a breakout from Gregory Polanco could give them the best outfield in MLB. Read More